The father of US hostage Natalie Raanan has described the release of his daughter by Hamas militants as the “best day of my life”.
Ms Raanan, 17, and her mother Judith, 59, both US citizens, were abducted and held for two weeks by Hamas during its terror attack on Israel earlier this month.
On Friday night, Hamas released mother and daughter, who were being held in Gaza, for “humanitarian reasons”.
Speaking from Evanston, Illinois, Uri Raanan, 71, said he was left in “tears” by the release of his daughter, who he described as “doing good ... very good”.
Uri Raanan speaks to the media following the release of his daughter— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
“I’m going to hug her, it will be the best day of my life,” he added.
The Raanans were released to the Red Cross and are now in the hands of the Israeli military.
An image of the pair was later released by the Israeli government showing them accompanied by Israeli soldiers after crossing the border.
President Joe Biden confirmed the release in a statement on Friday in which he said the US government had been working “around the clock” to free American citizens held by Hamas.
“Our fellow citizens have endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been racked with fear,” Mr Biden said, giving thanks to the governments of Qatar and Israel for their help in securing the release.
“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” he added.
The mother and daughter had been visiting Israel from Illinois when they were taken captive. They were staying in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when Hamas launched its deadly raid, killing some 1,400 people and taking scores more hostage.
Natalie with her mother Judith— (Supplied)
Israel says Judith and Natalie were among around 200 people taken hostage during the rampage, although Hamas claims the figure is higher.
The pair were leased ahead of an expected ground assault by the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza, which is facing a humanitarian catastrophe following days of heavy bombing.
Gaza’s health ministry says more than 4,000 people – many children among them – have been killed since Israel launched retaliatory strikes, vowing to wipe out Hamas.
Water, food and electricity were cut off in the densely populated territory, with thousands of Palestinians fleeing south after Israel announced an evacuation order for the north.
The first trucks carrying aid to those stuck in the area were finally allowed to pass through Egypt’s Rafah crossing on Saturday morning.
More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tonnes of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days before heading into Gaza.
Palestinians are running short of food, medicine and water in the territory that is under an Israeli siege.
The US embassy suggested such a move would enable foreigners to leave the besieged area. “We do not know how long it will remain open for foreign citizens to depart Gaza,” it added.
